With that, everything was over.
The path Majima Takahiro had walked all this time...
The unbroken history of this world...
It was all burned away by an overwhelming light.
The current circumstances were a mystery.
Everything came to a sudden end while still cloaked in shadows.
He must have found this unreasonable. Maybe he even felt anger. But that was how the world worked. This was reality. Ever since setting out in this world, ever since stumbling into that cave in a miserable state, he should’ve been well aware of this eventuality.
“Yes. That’s why. If you have something you want to protect—you’ll have to change the world.
“If you have the resolve for that, then awaken.
“Save your friends. Save the world.”
✦ ✦ ✦
“Master!”
“Ah?!”
I jolted upright.
“Wh-What...?”
I didn’t know what was going on. I looked around in a daze as someone suddenly embraced me.
“Aaah. Thank goodness. You opened your eyes.”
“Salvia...?”
Just as I straightened myself up, she squeezed me tight from the side. Salvia seemed to be crying. I accepted her embrace as I remained in a daze.
“Is this...my inner world?”
The world of light, or perhaps the mental path itself—my inner world, which had been reduced to no more than the school grounds.
“What happened...?”
I felt helpless and confused as I stood in the middle of the schoolyard. I had no idea why I was here or what had just happened.
Right... What had just happened? The hero of the exploration team, the Sword of Light Nakajima Kojirou, was the mastermind behind everything. I honestly couldn’t believe it. Even thinking back on it now, it didn’t make sense. He’d been so serious about this pursuit operation. I’d sensed true devotion and trust toward him from his comrades in the exploration team. He’d even faced me, someone accompanied by monsters, with an amicable attitude. I’d never once felt like any of that was a lie. And yet...
The truth was the truth.
“I have to accept it... We need to move on.”
I focused on my breathing and got my thoughts moving. For now, I decided to set aside questions of motives and such. First, I needed a grasp of the situation. I didn’t know why, but Nakajima Kojirou was an enemy. When I’d unveiled his identity, he’d attacked me. It seemed I’d lost consciousness from that and had come to my own world.
“Wait, hang on... What happened while I was out?”
“Master?”
I felt like I’d heard something after passing out and before waking up in this world.
“Save your friends. Save the world.”
That was it. I was sure. Had it just been my imagination?
“Sorry, Salvia. Can you let me go?”
I had a premonition. I straightened myself up and had Salvia back away. About ten seconds had passed since I woke up. I immediately recovered from the bewilderment of suddenly being attacked and waking up somewhere else entirely. It was nothing to be proud of, but this came from experience. This wasn’t my first time being on the verge of death.
“Masss—ter!”
“Yeah, I know.”
I nodded back to Asarina and turned around. The mysterious young man with dark brown hair was standing there, the one I’d seen in this world twice before. However, I could tell right away that something was different. After all, he returned my gaze. This was the first time he recognized my presence. Maybe now we could finally come to a mutual understanding.
“Hi there,” the man said. “We’ve finally connected. It seems you somehow made it in time.”
✦ ✦ ✦
“First, you may rest at ease,” the man said. “There’s no need to worry about the passage of time in here. Your companions aren’t yet dead. Even if we talk in here, it’ll be fine for a while longer.”
Something was chilling about his voice. Before this had inspired wariness, but things were different this time. I felt a deep dread, as if I were peeking into a bottomless abyss, yet still knew he bore me no animosity.
The difference was likely because the awkward incapability of understanding him I’d felt before was gone. The penetrating cold wasn’t from malice or animosity. It seemed this was a property of his very existence. Now, I was capable of observing him properly without an obscuring veil. I even felt sincerity in his attitude toward me.
He didn’t seem to be lying about the passage of time either. I felt he was interfering with this world in some way. He wasn’t an enemy. I still didn’t know what was going on, but at the very least, it was worth talking to him. I exchanged looks with Salvia as she nestled against me, then spoke to the man.
“You’re rather talkative today,” I said. “You’re awfully different from last time.”
It seemed natural for me to point this out, but the man shook his head.
“No, I haven’t changed at all. You’re the one who’s changed.”
“I have...?” I said, not quite sure what he was implying. “How have I changed?”
“To put it simply...I suppose your existence has reached the next stage. You’ve approached the core of the world. That’s why you’re capable of speaking with me now.”
“I don’t get what you’re saying at all.”
“No, you should be able to,” he declared. I fell silent. There was a strange alluring quality to his words. “Even if your mind doesn’t understand, your soul should know. You should know that this world, which can be said to be your very self, has been continuously sinking into the depths.”
I could tell that Salvia gasped right next to me. I couldn’t say anything to deny him. Every time I came here, I always felt like I was sinking deeper and deeper. Also, the world itself gradually sank each time my ability evolved.
“So, have you ever thought about what awaits at the bottom?”
This very question felt like it was inviting us into the abyss. I’d never thought about it before, but he did have a point. If this world was truly sinking, then it only made sense that it would eventually reach the bottom. And at the bottom—in other words, the final destination of my ability—was none other than...
“The Sea of Unconsciousness. It is the vast ocean where all human consciousness mixes together. In your world, it is also called the collective unconscious.”
“Collective unconscious...?”
“Human consciousness is connected inside the depths of unconsciousness. That stratum is called the collective unconscious. Come on, as you are now, you should be able to tell.”
At his urging, I directed my gaze and consciousness beyond this world. I focused on where this world was sinking toward each time my ability evolved. I focused on what was still so far away. And what I sensed in the deep abyss...
“Ugh... Ah...?!”
A fear I had never experienced before assaulted my entire being. It felt like my skull melted and my brain spilled out. It felt so real. I was aware that my very existence was on the verge of coming apart. Sensing chills from a primordial danger to my being, my consciousness was blown away.
“Master?!”
“Sttter?!”
I heard shocked and panicking voices. Before I knew it, I was on my knees. Still in a daze, I slammed my hands on the ground to barely keep myself from fainting. It felt like the whole world was swaying. It’d only lasted an instant, but the shock still affected me.
“Ugh...”
Even the simple act of trying to remember it had me breaking out in a cold sweat. There was no other way of describing that than the Sea of Unconsciousness. Within that vast ocean, a single human’s mind was no more than a droplet. There was no good or evil. My sense of self felt like it would dissolve in an instant and vanish. I somehow managed to maintain my consciousness as Salvia held my shoulder and raised a brow.
“What did you do?!” she roared at the man.
She was seething. It was a rare sight from her. Still, the man didn’t look particularly bothered.
“Be at ease,” he said. “I’m sure it was nothing. Just looking isn’t particularly dangerous.” There was affection in his eyes as he returned her gaze. “Any ordinary person could be crippled by the experience, though.”
“How dare—”
“Calm down. It’s fine. At least, he will be. If not, he wouldn’t have reached this far down to be able to speak with me. Well, by the looks of it, it was a little early, but he definitely has the qualifications. At his level, he’ll be fine.”
“What...?” I bit back the fear that had threatened my existence and faced the friendly man. “What are you?”
Someone I couldn’t even speak to unless I reached the core of the world—the Sea of Unconsciousness—couldn’t possibly be normal.
“Aah. It’s about time I answered that question,” he said. “I am the first savior. I currently serve as the world’s custodian.”